REVIEW: Cowboy Valentine by Mia Hopkins (Aug 25)

 
Cowboy Valentine by Mia Hopkins: Novellas, especially ones this short (at an estimated 85 pages), are difficult because it’s hard to give the characters much depth in such a short amount of space. This story is no exception.

We have Caleb, who comes back to help his family on the ranch when his father is diagnosed with cancer, and Cora, who is leaving in a few months to go to college. Neither of these characters feel complete. With Cora, she keeps saying she doesn’t want a boyfriend, but the excuse that she was going away (when they first start seeing each other in February and college wouldn’t start until August), seemed weak. Everything Caleb goes through with his father is breezed over without any depth or emotion.

The majority of the time was spent in the bedroom (or in the back of the pickup truck), not getting to know each other. As a result, I didn’t feel any connection with the characters, their declarations of love seemed hollow, and I was left feeling indifferent towards them.

I would have enjoyed it more if both the characters and the story itself had been flushed out more. As it stands, it’s good if you’re looking for a quick steamy read. If you’re looking for something deeper, you should look elsewhere because you won’t get it with this one.

Book Info:

August 25, 2015 | Samhain Publishing, Ltd. |

Small-town life is nothing but a waiting room for eighteen-year-old honor student Corazón Gomez. Work and school leave little time for love, but with a full-ride Ivy League scholarship and a one-way ticket out of the boondocks, who needs it?

The answer appears on Valentine’s Day when her old cowboy crush ambles into the ice cream parlor where she works, inviting her to go on a late-night ride in his truck. For the first time she wavers between staying on the straight and narrow, and going off-road with the handsome heartbreaker.

After four years working on ranches all over the country, Caleb MacKinnon is back on the family farm helping out his mom and brothers while his father fights cancer. The one bright spot: smart, funny, and wickedly sexy Cora.

From the start, they both know this blazing-hot love affair can’t last. But when autumn comes and Cora has to leave for the East Coast, Caleb must find a solution to keep himself—and his heart—from falling apart.

Warning: Contains hard, cherry-poppin’ sex in a pickup truck and a cowboy charmer who talks dirty in two languages.